HEAVENLY MANNA

    The Bulwar-Lytton prize (named for the author of the opening line, "It was a dark and stormy night...") is awarded every year to some of the worst possible opening lines of a book.  Here are some samples of past winners: "Just beyond the Narrows the river widens." "With a curvaceous figure that Venus would have envied, a tanned, unblemished oval face framed with lustrous thick brown hair, deep azure-blue eyes fringed with long black lashes, perfect teeth that vied for competition, and a small straight nose, Marilee had a beauty that defied description." "Detective Kodiak plucked a single hair from the bearskin rug and at once understood the grisly nature of the crime: it had been a ferocious act, a real honey, the sort of thing that could polarize a community, so he padded quietly out the back to avoid a cub reporter waiting in the den." (you'll want to read this one again.....slowly and carefully!) "Stanley looke

  I've frequently visited the beaches on the East coast with my family. Oh,   we love them! One visit, it wasn't just another day with the family at the   beach. No. No, see, the lifeguards at Ocean City, N.J. suddenly made   everyone get out of the water - fast! And you know what I'm thinking. I'm   thinking "Jaws"! So I was really cooperative. I got out real fast! Well,   instead, it was all about these two children, and they had to plunge in   and rescue them because they were in trouble out by a jetty there.   And then there are those times when you just can't wait for the big guys   to get there. That's what happened with 12-year-old Nicole Kissel who was   boogie boarding about five months ago on Washington's Long Beach. And   suddenly she heard somebody screaming near her, "Help! Help!" It turned   out it was another 12-year-old. It was 7th grader Dale Ostrander. He was   there that day with his youth group, and sudd

The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. —John 10:3 WHEN I SEE a flock of sheep I see exactly that, a flock. A rabble of wool. A herd of hooves. I don’t see a sheep. I see sheep. All alike. None different. That’s what I see. But not so with the shepherd. To him every sheep is different. Every face is special. Every face has a story. And every sheep has a name. The one with the sad eyes, that’s Droopy. And the fellow with one ear up and the other down, I call him Oscar. And the small one with the black patch on his leg, he’s an orphan with no brothers. I call him Joseph. The shepherd knows his sheep. He calls them by name. When we see a crowd, we see exactly that, a crowd. Filling a stadium or flooding a mall. When we see a crowd, we see people, not persons, but people. A herd of humans. A flock of faces. That’s what we see. But not so with the Shepherd. To him every face is different. Every face is a story. E

            A long dusty road into Bethlehem town,                 nowhere to stay but a stall,          A baby of hope wrapped in swaddling clothes,                could He be the Lord over all?         The ancient writings foretold the newborn King!     And love came, Jesus Messiah, the Savior, born as a child.                His love, His love came down.   Love came, Light of the nations, He gave his gift of salvation                His love, His love came down.          While under the sky in the darkest of night              shepherds were tending their sheep      An angel appeared with the heavenly host proclaiming                   good tidings and peace.         In David's city you'll find the newborn King!     And love came, Jesus Messiah, the Savior, born as a child.                 His love, His love came down.    Love came, Light of the nations, He gave his gift of salvation,                 His love, His love came down.            His love,

What happens when a dog interrupts a concert? To answer that, come with me to a spring night in Lawrence, Kansas. Take your seat in Hoch Auditorium and behold the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra—the oldest continually operating orchestra in the world. The greatest composers and conductors in history have directed this orchestra. It was playing in the days of Beethoven (some of the musicians have been replaced). You watch as stately dressed Europeans take their seats on the stage. You listen as professionals carefully tune their instruments. The percussionist puts her ear to the kettle drum. A violinist plucks the nylon sting. A clarinet player tightens the reed. And you sit a bit straighter as the lights dim and the tuning stops. The music is about to begin. The conductor, dressed in tails, strides onto the stage, springs onto the podium, and gestures for the orchestra to rise. You and two thousand others applaud. The musicians take their seats, the maestro takes his

    "We were closer when we were poorer." The lady who told me that was   speaking about her marriage, and she wasn't poor any more. You could tell   that by looking at her. She was very affluent. But she was telling me that   she and her husband were closer in the early days of their relationship   when they were pinching pennies, and scraping by, and wondering how they   were going to pay the rent, and fighting the wolf at the door. But they   were at least fighting the wolf together.   Now, since that conversation with that lady I've had many opportunities to   quote her at, oh, women's luncheons and dinners. And I always see women's   head nodding in agreement as if that's been the case in their life too.   Apparently there's something about not having much that can make a   relationship stronger.   I'm Oluwafemi Olawale and I want to have A Word With You today about "Very   Needy, Very Close."   The Apostle Paul kn

  You may have heard about the following new units of measure and conversions: Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter: Eskimo Pi 2.4 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at Yale University hospital:  1 I.V. League Speed of a tortoise breaking the sound barrier:  Mach Turtle Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour:  Knot-furlong Basic unit of laryngitis:  1 hoarsepower Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement:  bananosecond 1 million microphones = 1 megaphone 2000 mockingbirds = 2 kilomockingbirds 10 cards = 1 decacards 1 millionth of a fish = 1 microfiche 453.6 graham crackers = 1 pound cake 3-1/3 tridents = 1 decadent 8 nickels = 2 paradigms 1 millionth of a mouthwash = 1 microscope Half of a large intestine = 1 semicolon 1000 aches = 1 megahurtz 2 wharves = 1 paradox 2000 pounds of Chinese soup = Won ton      Some interesting conversions!  But nothing that compares with the conversion y

   Mystery rides were part of growing up at our house. Usually it was a   Sunday afternoon, and I'd pile our three kids, who were little then and   never will be again, into our car for a ride. I think we explored every   corner of our area. And as we did, we discovered over the years, a lot of   great things. But I've got one son who's a lot like me. He wants to know   the plan before we leave.   "Hey, Dad, where are we going? Where are we going to eat? What are we   going to eat? What are we going to do while we're there? How long will we   be there? What time are we going to get home?" He would pump me with   questions; I felt like I was being interrogated by a police sergeant.   Sometimes I knew it was better not to explain where we were going. Oh,   we've done things that would have sounded boring if I had told about them,   but they turned out to be exciting and I knew they would. Plus surprises   are fun anyway. So, my kids got used t

  Have you ever noticed how a baby learns to walk? Yeah, it's the "step,   boom" method. Someone comes along and says, "I think it's about time",   sets them up on their legs - you know, kind of spaghetti legs - and they   take one step, boom. And, of course, they get up again, and the next time   it's step, step, boom. And then step, step, step, boom, etc. You know.   Now, we have family movies of our oldest son learning to walk years ago.   It was pretty much by that method. And when he went down, you could see   him grabbing something and battling to get his muscles going all in one   direction so he could get up. And then you saw his big sister reaching   over to give him a hand. Actually, that's what it takes whenever you go   step, boom.   I'm Oluwafemi Olawale and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Boom,   A Battler, and A Brother."   We're going to look today at a man who stepped out to serve the

     "Simon, Simon, satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for   you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back,   strengthen your brothers." Luke 22:31-32   Have you ever perceived yourself to be at one place spiritually only to   discover that you were actually far from this place? Peter perceived   himself to be so spiritually strong that he was prepared to suffer greatly   for his Master. Yet Jesus knew where Peter really was in his own   pilgrimage. He knew that Peter's enthusiasm did not match his reality. He   was suffering from an attitude of self-righteousness. So, how did Jesus   help Peter match his perception to his reality? Peter was the object of a   divine setup.   First, notice that satan asked permission to sift Peter as wheat. Jesus   determined that satan would be used to bring Peter to the maturity level   both Jesus and Peter really desired. And Jesus was praying that Peter   would pass the t

  Father in the name of Jesus, I pray You open doors for the person who   sent me this as well as those I am sending it to. Only You can open   doors, no man can close and for that we honor You today. Thank You for   the open doors of life, health, strength, prosperity, wealth, and   love. Also, thank You for closing the doors of death, sickness,   weakness, despair, poverty, and bitterness. We love You today Lord   and give You all the glory and all the praise. I seal this prayer in   Jesus' name, Amen!!!   If you need God to open a door, pray this prayer for the person who sent   it to you and for those you are sending it to. Believe in your heart and   you shall receive what God has for you.   I need a door to open... God closes doors no man can open & God opens   doors no man can close.

    There is an immense difference between a worldview that is not able to   answer every question to complete satisfaction and one whose answers are   consistently contradictory.  There is an even greater difference between   answers that contain paradoxes and those that are systemically   irreconcilable.   Once again, the Christian faith stands out as unique in this test, both as   a system of thought and in the answers it gives.  Christianity does not   promise that you will have every question fully answered to your   satisfaction before you die, but the answers it gives are consistently   consistent.  There may be paradoxes within Christian teaching and belief,   but they are not irreconcilable.  To those who feel that Christianity has   failed them because of prayers that went unanswered, it is important to   realize what I am saying here.   I sat with a man in my car, talking about a series of heartbreaks he had   experienced.  "There were just a few things

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not   perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The   wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water   in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my   chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.   (Isaiah 43:18-21, NIV)   Good thoughts as we begin a new year. Good thoughts for anytime of the   year. God has such wonderful things planned for your future that all the   past ones will be forgotten. From the context it is obvious that the   future restoration of Israel is the event to come, and the former things   refers to the destruction of Sennacherib and the return from Babylon. The past likely means more ancient   events like the deliverance from Egypt and at the Red Sea, and the entry into Canaan.   We would do well to apply these same thoughts of t

Sometimes I feel like broken pottery thrown into a heap of broken pieces.   But this is a lie.  God says; I would never discard you to the ash heap.   No child of mine will be thrown away or set aside to be useless all their   day. The world may break you. Life may blow huge holes in your vessel.   Circumstances will crack you, but now there are so many places where I can   shine through.   Many will not let me shine through their broken places.  They are ashamed   and embarrassed by the cracks and slivers they have obtained in life.   But everyone has cracks. Everyone has broken places. If you don’t have   broken places, would you ever come to Me? Would I ever be able to make you   more glorious than you ever thought you could be? Or would you be sitting   on a shelf thinking you are so grand? It’s the broken ones that I fix that   will far outshine any lovely piece with no cracks.   Now you have a choice. You can remain, a broken, unused vessel, it is your   choice.

This week we have been spending some time with our families in Ohio. We had a family outing one day and ended up back at our son's house with our kids and grandkids. Our daughter-in-law shared that they were having trouble getting our 9 year old grandson Christopher to write stories for a creative writing school classes. Since I write, she asked if I could help motivate him. He is at that stage (in a little boy's) life that he likes gross or shocking things, so I decided to work with that. We adults had just returned from an outing to a local indoor shooting range where I had injured my thumb, so being the creative writer that I am, I suggested he write a story titled, "The day my dad shot off my grandpa's thumb." He thought that was a great idea and commenced to put together a story of what happened (including the trip to the emergency room where all was made right, etc.) When he ended the story grandma said, "What about the scripture?"